Spyderco Warning

Elkins45 said:

Every brand of (insert mechanical object here) has a thread just like this one on some forum somewhere. Anything that's mass produced will have such issues.

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Madcap_Magician said:

Sal and Eric are good folks, I am confident they will make it right.

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Yo Mama said:

1. Why not just let them fix it? I had a warranty issue with Spyderco, and yes I paid 6 bucks. Second time they paid. You can even send them all in at once and pay the same for shipping.
As I've already noted, I was willing to pay the $6 to send in the Native because I am not the original owner (even though my friend and fellow THR moderator John Shirley bought the knife NIB and only carried it for a week at most). The problem with the $6 on the PM2 was that it was defective out of the box. My initial email interaction with Spyderco was, to paraphrase, "Send it to us, and enclose a check for return shipping in case we decide it's not a warranty issue. No exceptions. We don't care if it was defective out of the box before you even used it. Sucks to be you." That was followed by a phone call which was returned by a supervisor who first insinuated that one of their largest and most reputable dealers was at fault. I had to be very firm with him to get him to send me a call tag. That's horrible customer service, and there's no excuse for it.
2. A month? I just got mine back in a week. I was just told that Taurus has a 2 month wait. In the end you'll get it taken care of.
Yes, it took just over a month actually. One would think that product that was shipped out defective would get priority or a rush. Benchmade is currently running about two weeks on their LifeSharp service.
3. It's a few stripped screws and patina if I understand you correctly. Yes I understand you're upset that China has the ability to put in a clip correctly, and yes you're justified to be annoyed, but in all your posts now you warn others to stay away from Spydercos. Some of the best blades I own are Spydercos, and yes very on par with ZT.
Nope, the screws aren't stripped. The screws aren't long enough to get enough threads into the liner to tighten down and hold the clip properly.

Also, no, not patina. Full blown corrosion, as in pitted rust that I had to take off with a 3M ScotchBrite rolok pad being spun by a drill. FURTHER, I technically voided my warranty by disassembling the knife myself.

Again, the corrosion issue was limited to the two Taiwanese manufactured knives. It is a direct result of a poor choice of liner finish, not poor execution in the strictest sense. The clip screw issues are limited to a pair of very recent production "Golden, Colorado U.S.A. Earth" plant knives. This appears to be a clip screw length issue, but the screws may be a little soft as well. As I also noted, my experience with every Spyderco that was made in Japan (IIRC made by G. Sakai) has been superb. I'll make the Chris Reeve fans heads explode and assert that I'd rather have a Spyderco Superleaf than a large Sebenza. I'd Rather have my Benchmade RSK Mk1 Griptilian than a large Sebenza as well. If Spyderco hadn't sent me a defective PM2 AND made jump through hoops to get it fixed I'd rate the PM2 above the RSK Mk1 and the Superleaf.

Would it make you happy if I checked them on a micrometer and gave to the exact lengths vs. the Benchmade screws? If hso still has access to such facilities or equiment, would you like me to ask him if I can send both the Spyderco and Benchmade screws to him to have the hardness of each tested?
Are you going to keep apologizing for Spyderco, and expect me to the QA / QC for them?

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JR47 said:

My first Spyderco was a Standard, and the clip was part of the scale. I lost it at a building collapse in the early 1990's. I replaced it with another Standard that has the newer clip style. As I type this, it's sitting on my hip. It has been exposed to weather, chemicals, and hard use in Fire/EMS aboard a Heavy Squad.
Spyderco doesn't make a model called the "Standard". Based on the context I assume you're referring to a Delica or Endura. Those are made in Japan for Spyderco. Again, I've had nothing but exceptional experience with Japanese made Spydercos.

I've given away several dozen of them to friends and family over the years. Always new ones, and we, NONE of us, have ever had a problem.

What, exactly, kind of environment are these knives used in?
The PM2 was manufactured by Spyderco, boxed, packaged, and sent to Knife Center of the Internet in Maryland. From there it repackaged, and mailed to me in North Georgia. All of that abuse made the clip screws fall out of the handle.

The Native 5 was likewise boxed, packaged, and sent to a dealer. It was then repackaged and shipped to John Shirley (THR moderator J Shirley) in the metro DC are, where he carried it for somewhere between a few days and a week. John cut open a package or two with it. John then packed it up and sent it to me in North Georgia. Once I received the Native 5 I carried it clipped in my pocket for several days. Those several days were over the course of a couple of weeks as part of my EDC rotation. I also opened a package or two with it. It held up to much more use than the PM2 before its clip screws finally gave up the ghost.

The Chaparral was boxed, packaged, and sent to a B&M Spyderco dealer who is local to me. They checked it in, and put in the display case that evening. The next day I saw it, handled it, and bought it. It was carried on and off over the course of a little over a year, clipped inside the front pocket of khaki shorts or khaki pants. It was carried primarily as a dress knife, but it did open a few packages, open several pieces of my mail, and shaved the caps off of several cigars before I quit smoking. It was carried mostly in North Georgia, but it did make a few excursions into the heathen land to the east that is otherwise known as Upstate South Carolina.

The Cat was boxed, packaged, and shipped to Blade HQ in Utah. From there, it was repackaged and shipped to me in North Georgia. After I received it was carried in rotation with the Chaparral as a less dressy but still gentlemanly sized knife. It saw similar abuse to the Chaparral.

As for lubrication, why would anyone complain that the knives needed to be lubricated when new? Many people strip factory lubricants off of their knives, and apply their own particular favorite. Same with checking screws upon receipt. We routinely check the screws on our new guns before using them, don't we?
The PM2 came lubricated when new. It was returned bone dry. Further, if you'd actually bother to read Spyderco's warranty, unlike a gun, your warranty is voided if you disassemble the knife. So, I technically voided my warranty taking the knives apart to my lubricant of choice on them. AND since disassembly voids the warranty Spyderco had damn well better make sure that all interior components are highly polished and / or coated with a very long life corrosion inhibitor. This particularly true on knives like the Chaparral that have street prices over $100, and MSRPs well above that amount.
I hope that Spyderco helps you, if only to shut this thread down.
Quit being an apologist fanboy. Once again, I'm a huge fan of Spyderco's designs, and freaking love their full flat ground blades with the finger choil. I've provided the FACTS of my experience. You can heed my warning and proceed with caution before purchasing an American or Taiwanese made Spyderco. You seem to have Japanese made Spydercos, which, once again, I also think are exceptional knives. You can heed my warning about poor initial customer service and the need to escalate this to a higher level. Just keep in mind that Spyderco is still a relatively small company. When contacting them you go from front end customer service to a supervisor. The next step up the chain after a supervisor is talking to Eric or Sal. Thankfully, Sal is a great man by all accounts, and after talking to Eric I think very highly of him.

As for shutting down this thread down, it's only going to happen if another moderator chooses to because people like you keep attacking me or another member. Open or closed I'll still be able to post, and I will pass along the response detailing what measures Spyderco is taking to remedy these problems, which Eric has assured me he will send me in the coming weeks.

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